Installers and Quick Reference Resources:Both DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio resources can be found in the https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/suppor ... and-fusion site. These include: • Installers of the latest and prior versions of both the free and Studio version.• Hardware Configuration Guide for information on systems we have verified.• The DaVinci Resolve manual, which is also available from the DaVinci Resolve help menu upon installation. Most features are explained in detail in the manual and can be found using a simple PDF search.• A summary of new features (via the New Features Guide and in What’s New videos) for newer versions - useful if you’re already an experienced user.• A list of supported codecs for each version and platform.• A comparison of the capabilities between DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Please retain your license key package as proof of purchase, it includes a serial number on the package, and the license activation key as you may need it in the future. If they are lost there is no recovery process available.

While BMD does not restrict the private sale of licenses please be alert to counterfeit copies of activation keys or dongles. If the seller can not provide the license key package as proof of purchase with the package serial number we recommend you avoid their offer. The activation keys are in a package with a serial number. Both are required for proof of purchase.

• How many machines can I use my activation key on? (or) I get this message “1 activation remaining”?Each activation-key license is valid for two machines you may want to work on, for example, a workstation and a travel laptop.

• I’ve upgraded my machine - how do I transfer my license from the old machine?Just enter your license ID during startup. This deactivates the key from the last machine that you worked on. Alternatively, you can choose ‘Deactivate All’ and reactivate on two newer machines.

• I bought a license key for DaVinci Resolve Studio version x. Can I use it on a newer/older version?Your existing DaVinci Resolve hardware license dongles can be used for running all DaVinci Resolve Studio versions from version 7 onwards, including minor versions. Your activation keys can be used for running all DaVinci Resolve Studio versions from version 14 onwards, including minor versions.

• Are dongles still supported?Yes. All existing dongles are still supported for a single seat at a time use.

The common issues to check are:• Is your hardware configuration supported? This includes your CUDA or OpenCL compatibility and recommended drivers. Please check the hardware configuration guide (see Installers and Quick Reference Resources above) as the compatibility can vary between versions.

For example, the DaVinci Resolve 15 Configuration Guide states these guidelines for the GPU: “While performance varies greatly, most modern Intel, AMD and NVIDIA GPUs that support Metal, OpenCL 1.2 or CUDA 3.0 compute capability will operate with DaVinci Resolve (15)”

In Project Manager, you can press <⌘+,> (Mac) or <Ctrl+,> (Windows/Linux) to bring up Preferences and try a different GPU Processing type to isolate and work around potential driver issues.

• Some software, including certain vendor specific drivers, mouse and window management utilities and power-management tools for laptops are known to cause issues with DaVinci Resolve. If you are unable to start DaVinci Resolve, please try to quit or disable other running software services before restarting DaVinci Resolve.

• If you have auxiliary hardware (sound cards, panels, desktop video devices etc.), it might be worth isolating the problematic hardware by plugging them in one at a time.

• The first time it starts up, DaVinci Resolve scans for audio effects installed on your system. If you have a lot of audio plugins installed, this may take some time to complete.

Hardware: • What should I buy? How can I find out if a certain model is supported?

If the hardware you are considering is not explicitly named in the configuration guide, it is often useful to search for the model number in the forums to see if others have tried a similar configuration.

Databases:• Should I use a Disk databases or PostgreSQL database?

This depends on your needs. Disk databases are useful for having several local files and projects in a single location. By default, all new DaVinci Resolve installations use a local disk database to create projects in, and PostgreSQL can be installed either separately or via the Advanced installation options.

A PostgreSQL is useful for sharing databases and projects across multiple machines. Collaboration projects are supported only on PostgreSQL. Please refer to the manual for more details.

• What should I keep in mind when upgrading versions or databases?When upgrading DaVinci Resolve, you may sometimes be prompted to upgrade your existing database formats, in order to support the newer feature sets that come with the latest versions. Please note that while Resolve databases are generally backward-compatible (i.e. upgraded databases retain existing project information from the previous versions), the newer database formats may not be accessible to older versions of DaVinci Resolve, should you choose to install them.

For this reason, it is recommended to play it safe by making a copy of the disk database folders or backing up the PostgreSQL database before upgrading. As an alternative to upgrading the database, you could export DRP files of your previous projects, install the newer version of DaVinci Resolve, and reimport the DRP files under a new database.

• How do I back up a project/database?Disk databases can be backed up simply by copying/compressing the database folder.

Restoring database backupsFor added safety you can export or make a copy of your database, then restore that database to a new name. Upgrade that restored database rather than the original so you always have the old and new separate.